Improvement in valvular stoppers for bottles



C. PATTERSON.

valvular Stoppersfor Butties.

N0. 146,0]8- v Patented Dec.30,.l873.

zefgmf: lwmzfma- W?? ly, @Q07 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CALLENDER PATTERSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN VALVULAR STOPPERS FCR BOTTLES.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,018, datf d December 30, 1873; application filed October 11, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

" throat of the bottle in such a manner that in pouring out the contents thereof the fluid will not come in contact with the operators thumb or linger, nor the latter necessarily come over the receiving-vessel; that the tube or nozzle of a funnel can be freely inserted in the neck for the purpose of lling the bottle; and that the valve may be held automatically in the opened condition for any length of time that may be desired, and instantly closed with ready facility after the bottle has been filled. My invention relates to an open tube fitted to slide freely up and down within the neck and mouth of a bottle, while the said tube extends upward above the mouth of the former, and is supported by a surrounding1 spiral spring, which rests upon the edge of the mouth of the said bottle, and the lower end tted with an elastic disk, which opens and closes the lower end of the throat alternately, as the said tube is moved downward and upward, the downward movement being effected by means of an elastic catch, which extends downward from the upper end of the tube to the lower projecting edge of the lip of the bottle, all which will be found illustrated by the accompanying drawings- Figure l being a perspective view of the upper portion of a bottle having my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2, a vertical central section of Fig. l; and Fig. 3, a vertical central section of the same, showing the positions of the different parts in relation to the bottle when the latter is open.

The tube A is made about an inch (more o less) longer than the neck and mouth-lip of the bottle B, and ts within the neck of the bottle so as to slide easily up and down. lts lower end is open at two opposite sides, and has attached to its extreme lower part an inverted conical frustum, a', and a screw-stem, 2, around which latter a bevel-edged disk of elastic gum, C, is secured by a screw-nut, 3,

with the side having the larger diameter of the said disk against the under side of a. The larger diameter ofthe disk a is about a quarter of an inch (more or less) greater than the diameter of the inner side of the neck of the bottle, so that when the tube A is drawn upward, the disk C will close the said lower end of the neck, as represented in Fig. 2, and when the tube is pushed downward a short distance, open communication will be produced between the interior of the bottle and the upper open end of the said tube A through the two openings a at its lower end, as shown in Fig. 3. The upper end of A has a narrow flange, 4, projecting around its outer side, against which a spiral springD, which surrounds the tube, bears, while the lower end of the spiral D bears upon the upper edge of the lip b of the neck of the bottle. Attached to the outer edge of the ange 4, the spring-catch E is securely fixed. This catch is bent at its lower end, as represented in the drawings, so as to form a catch, e', which will slide against the outside `surface of the lip of the bottle as the tube A is drawn downward by the finger of the operator in opening the valve, until it passes the under edge 5 of the lip, when it springs under the latter, and thus holds the tube down, and consequently leaves the communication open between the interior of the bottle and its mouth. The extreme lower end of E is bent outward at e, so as to afford a broad seat for the 1in ger of the operator. (See Fig. 1'.) The sprin catch should be made of springy sheet metal.

The tube, with its conical bottom a and screw-stem 2, may be cast together in one piece; or the tube may be made of sheet metal or` glass, and the conical bottom and screw at tached thereto.

The diameter of the elastic disk C being necessarily much larger than the diameter of the tube A, the beveled edge of the said disk turns upward into the space left around between the beveled edge of a and the inner side of the throat of the bottle, in forcing the tube and the attachments at its lower end down through the throat; and as soon as the disk C passes below the said throat its edges spring outward, as shown in Fig. 3, and the circular burr 3 being only a little less in diameter than the throat, it firmly supports the elastic disk aforementioned closely up against the shoulders of the lower end of the neck, making an' air and water tight fit in consequence of the reaction of the spiral spring D, as represented in Fig. 2.

It will be understood, without any further explanation, that if the operator press the spring-catch E downward by means of his 1inger on the foot c thereof, in using a bottle having the said valvular stopper applied, as described, the catch c will slide downward against the beveled face of the lip and eventually catch under the shoulder 5 thereof, and thus open and keep open the communication between the mouth and the interior vof the bottle, as shown in Fig. 3; that the tube A will readily receive the nozzle of a common funnel to facilitate in lling the bottle; that a slight force outward given to the foot e by his iinger will release the catch from the shoulder 5, and allow the tube, with its disk C and nut 3, to rise by the reaction of the spiral spring D, and thus close the throat, as shown in Figs. 2 and l; and that the operators finger or thumb will not be washed by the running contents of the bottle in pouring from the latter, nor even be brought over the mouth of the receivingtumbler or other receiving-vessel.

I am aware that a tube has been made to operate as a valvular stopper in the throat of a bottle by being arranged to slide longitudinally through a mouth-stopper hinged to a frame secured around the outside of the neck of a bottle, in such a manner that the said tube can be turned into and out of the throat of the bottle, as occasion may require, and, when turned into the said throat, the valvular tube will be kept closed by the reaction of a spiral spring around that part of the tube which projects above the said hinged mouth-stopper in which it slides, as shown in Higleys patent, No. 45,005; therefore I do not desire to claim, broadly, the combination, with the throat and mouth of a bottle, of a sliding valvular tube operated by a surrounding spiral spring to close the valve; but

I claim as my invention-- 1. The combination, with the throat and mouth of a bottle, of the tube A, with its attachments a', C, 2, 3, and D, when the said tube and its attachments are constructed, arranged, and applied to operate as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and described.

2. The spring-catch E, in combination with the upper end of the tube A, the said springcatch being constructed and arranged to op crate substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and described.

OALLENDER PATTERSON.

Vitnesses BENJ. MoRIsoN, WM. H. MoRIsoN. 

